Life — April 2, 1896 — page 18: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page reviews a theatrical play called "Madame," written by and starring actor Charles Coghlan. The main cartoon depicts a scene from the play: a fashionable female pawnbroker (the "Madame" character) conducts business while a man kneels before her in a comedic posture, captioned "HE TREATED HIM LIKE A DOG." The satire mocks both the improbable plot—a noblewoman running a pawn shop—and the exaggerated theatrical conventions of the era. The text notes the play combines "considerable extraneous matter" to hold audience attention. The smaller cartoon above criticizes actors who also write plays, suggesting Coghlan succeeded more as an author than his theatrical peers typically do. The humor targets Victorian-era melodrama's artificial plots and overwrought sentimentality.